PHILADELPHIA –The Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicinehas received $500,000 from the Bilger Foundation to identify new approaches and unique drug targets for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and, through its Drug Discovery Center, translate these research findings into new therapeutic drugs.

“Through the generosity of the Bilger family we are able to pursue two novel lead compounds for Alzheimer drug discovery that look promising in preliminary studies, but need substantial investment to evaluate as potential Alzheimer therapies,” says John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD, Director, Institute on Aging. “Because there will be no magic bullets for Alzheimer’s, this gift is highly significant in that it will support research that, if successful, could put more drugs in the pipeline aimed at helping Alzheimer patients by blocking or abrogating the disease process.”

“The Bilger family gift will enable us to determine if an off-label drug used to treat organ rejection in transplant patients can be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease,” explains Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, CNDR Director. “Additionally, we will test compounds that belong to a class of drugs that block oxidative damage, but this program is at an earlier stage of development and will require more work before we can test it in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. These studies will test important new avenues of therapeutic intervention in Alzheimer’s disease.”

The Bilger Foundation is headed by Arthur H. Bilger, Wharton Class of 1975, and his wife, Dahlia Bilger. The Foundation has executed this gift to establish The Nathan Bilger Alzheimer Drug Discovery Initiative in memory and honor of Mr. Bilger’s father, Nathan.

Alzheimer’s disease afflicts more than 5 million patients in the U.S. This number will increase to about 8 million in the U.S. by 2030, with an economic impact likely to exceed $500 billion. Although a small number of marketed drugs provide short-term symptomatic benefit, no approved treatments exist that arrest disease progression.

###

PENN Medicine is a $3.5 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is currently ranked #4 in the nation in U.S.News & World Report's survey of top research-oriented medical schools; and, according to most recent data from the National Institutes of Health, received over $379 million in NIH research funds in the 2006 fiscal year. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals — its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S.News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center — a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.